Handrail mounting



Oct. 17, 1961 w. H. WOODWARD 3,004,751

HANDRAIL MOUNTING Filed April 18, 1960 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM H. WUODWARD BY 341W A TTORNEY United States Patent 3,004,751HANDRAIL MOUNTING William H. Woodward, 12033 Whitcomb, Detroit, Mich.

Filed Apr. 18, 1960, Ser. No. 23,032 7 Claims. (Cl. 256-67) Thisinvention relates to handrail mountings and particularly mountings forinclined handrails conforming to the pitch of a flight of steps.

An object of the invention is to mount a handrarl on two or more postsin such a manner as to readily permit an initial inclinationaladjustment of the rail to conform to any of various pitches commonlyemployed for stairwa s.

Xnother object is to adapt a handrail to be longitudinally adjusted on asupporting post preliminary to permanently securing the rail on theposts.

Another object is to conceal within a hollow handrail its connections tosupporting posts and to thus also protect such connections from rain andsnow and consequent corrosion.

Another object is to form a tubular handrail with a downwardly openingslot, to extend the upper end of a support into said rail through saidslot and to also extend such end into a slot formed in an elongatedadjuster disposed within the rail, and to provide a connection concealedwithin the rail for first pivoting the adjuster and rail to a desiredincline andthen clamping said end between the Walls of the adjusterslot.

Another object is to provide an improved means for capping the ends of ahandrail.

These and various other objects are attained by the constructionhereinafter described and illustrated in the "accompanying drawingwherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of my improved handrail installed on aflight of steps.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view in partial section and enlarged in scaleas compared to FIG. 1, showing the mounting of the rail on one of itssupporting posts.

FIG. 3 is a relatively transverse fragmentary elevation of the topportion of one of the posts, this view being also enlarged in scale ascompared to FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of an adjuster appearing in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a cross section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a cross section taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

In these views, the reference character 1 designates an elongatedinclined tubular handrail closed at its ends by caps 2 and surmountingany desired number of supports such as posts 3, preferably tubular andhaving their lower ends set into sockets 4 suitably anchored to a flightof steps 5. The rail is formed with a downwardly opening slot 6,extending preferably from end to end of the rail and having a widthpreferably materially less than the interior radius of the rail. Eachpost rigidly carries at its upper end a fitting 7, having an upstandingtongue 8 slipfitted in the slot 6, and having its lower portion snuglyfitted in the post and fixed therein by screws 9.

The upper portion of each tongue 8 is slipfitted in an elongated slot 10formed in and lengthwise of an elongated rail adjuster 11. A bolt 12 andnut 12a connect the mid portion of the adjuster to the tongue, thisconnection being initially loose to afford such pivoting of the adjusteras will conform its inclination to the pitch of the steps. When theinclination is correct and the several adjusters are aligned, the bolthead and nut are clamped against opposite walls of the slot 10, imposinga slight flexure on said walls such as to firmly clamp the tongue 8between such walls. The thickness of the adjuster, as measuredlengthwise of the bolt 12, is sufliciently reducedto aiford' said boltand the corresponding nut ample clearance from the rail as thelatter isslid upon the adjusters to its use position. The slot 10 is spaced fromthe adjuster ends,

and said ends are preferably circularwith a free sliding clearance fromthe interior face of the rail, serving as guides for the rail as thelatter is slid to its assembly position. When thus positioned, the railis tightly mounted on the several adjusters by extending a pair of capscrews 13 into the ends of each adjuster through the slot 6. Washers 14interposed between the heads of said screws and the rail occupy abridging relation to the slot 6. Preferably a suflicient bottom portionof the rail is flattened from end to end of the rail (-FIG. 5) to affordan ample seat for the washers 14. The effect of said bolts is to drawthe rail tightly against the circular ends of the adjusters.

The caps 2 wherein the rail ends are inserted are fixed on said ends bybolts 15 headed against the outer peripheries of the caps, said boltsextending through the slot 6 and engaging polygonal nuts 15a within therail, restrained from rotation by engagement with the cross walls of thecaps. Rotation of said bolts draws the nuts 15a tightly against theinner periphery of the rail.

An important advantage of the described construction lies in itsadaptability to be marketed in kit form, and to be installed without theexercise of material mechanical skill. The rail may be available in afew diiferent lengths and these may be readily hack-sawed to a lesserlength, if necessary. Other assembly operations require merely a screwdriver and small wrench.

The circular ends of the adjuster serve to substantially center thiselement within the rail, and the reduced thickness of this elementbetween said ends permits the bolt 12 and nut 12a to have a requiredclearance from the rail, avoiding interference with either an angular orsliding adjustment of the rail. Said reduced thickness also affords suchslight flexibility of the walls defining the slot 10 as is necessary toclamp the tongue 8 between such walls.

What I claim is:

1. In a handrail and its mounting, the combination with a hollow railformed longitudinally thereof with a downwardly opening elongated slot,of an adjuster for the rail inserted in and elongated longitudinally ofthe rail, a support for the rail having an upper end extending into therail through said slot, means pivoting the adjuster transversely thereofand interiorly of the rail on said upper end and thus affording aselective angular relation of the adjuster to the support, and meansrigidly securing the rail to the adjuste 2. A handrail and its mountingas set forth in claim 1, the support having an upstanding tongueextending into the rail through said slot, and the adjuster beingslotted lengthwise thereof, said tongue being inserted in the slot ofthe adjuster for engagement by said pivot means.

3. A handrail and its mounting as set forth in claim 2, said pivotingmeans serving additionally as a means for clamping said tongue betweenopposite walls of the adjuster slot to maintain a desired angularrelation between the adjuster and support.

4. In a handrail and its mounting as set forth in claim 1, said meansfor securing the rail to the adjuster extending through the slot of therail and engaging the end portions of the adjuster.

5. In a handrail and its mounting as set forth in claim 1, said meansfor securing the rail to the adjuster comprising a pair of screws headedagainst the rail in a bridging relation to the rail slot and extendingthrough said slot and threaded into the end portions of the adjuster.

6. In a handrail and its mounting as set forth in claim 1, a cap closingan end of the rail, a screw transverse to the Patented Oct. 17, 1961nail and extending freely inward through the cap and through the railslot, and a nut engaged and clamped by the bolt against the interiorface of the rail and restrained byw the cap from rotationz- 7. hndrailand itS'm i Qt QI hEin si aiimla the adjuster. having, endportions substantially conforming: to the interior'faee ofthe rail forgniding the -rail inrsliding; longitudinally. thereof! on the;adjusteniand; being reduced: ih orosslseotion betweenfsaid' en dyortions;;,anr1 saidisloti u forming the adjuster with transverselyflexible walls, traversed by said pivoting means, whereby said walls mayexercise their clamping effect on said tongue.

Sehilling .4. Jan. 21, 1958

